Photo-a-Day Week 47

The days are continuing to grow shorter, the leaves are falling, and my year of a photo a day is drawing to a close. Only five more weeks of photos. Hope you stay with me to the end. Please be thinking about your favorite photo or photos from this challenge. On January 1st next year I will post a link for a slideshow of the entire series. 

Let's look at this week's photos. 

Day 321-

The front of our property, near the street, is the sunniest part of the garden. I have a couple of varieties of Opuntia sp. Prickly Pear cactus. I like the red seed pods on this one. It is a pass-along plant from my brother in Illinois. This one's blooms are bright yellow with red centers. The other one I have is all yellow. 

Opuntia

Day 322-

Nothing is prettier to me than the calm waters of the lake with the reflection of fall colors on the other side. I was quite lucky to capture this image as within two days all the leaves across the lake were gone. 

Reflection

Day 323- 

I brought the Snake plants inside a few weeks ago. Two of the planters have flower stalks with lots of buds. Some folks tell me they never knew that Dracaena trifasciata, or Mother-in-law's tongue, bloomed. I was a little confused on the botanical name. I thought it was a Sansevieria trifasciata, but apparently the name changed in 2017. (according to my reading in Wikipedia and further reading on the Kew website)

About to bloom

Day 324- 

Driving home from Greenville, I had a few items I wanted to try and capture for a photo of the day. This tower is near Hickory Tavern, SC. We always take the back roads, the road less traveled, and enjoy the scenery. Not sure what this tower's job might be. Looks like a lead into an airport, not a cell tower. I will have to look more closely next trip.

Tower

Day 325-

The Camellia sasanquas are blooming now. The C. sasanqua 'Yuletide' is a reliable bloomer. I like that it has the bright yellow anthers for the pollinators to enjoy the pollen available. Some of the Camellias are doubles or more, covering the anthers, providing little to no pollen. 

Yuletide

Day 326-

Greenwood, South Carolina, had a number of textile mills. Over the years, most have closed, but Greenwood Mills Harris plant is still operating. There are two water towers near the plant. There is a lot of history throughout South Carolina with the textile mills, the mill villages, and the communities that grew up tied to the Mills. 

Water Towers

Day 327-

My Hydrangea quericfolia 'Ruby Slippers,' is really a stunning fall performer. The deer have nibbled down two of the three that I have. I will be more attentive next year with spraying deer repellent. While during the growing season this hydrangea is like any other oakleaf hydrangea, come fall, wow! Its color just pops. 

Ruby Slippers

Thanks for visiting once again for this week's round-up. Be sure to come back again next week. 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 42

Week 42, a few more plant photos than in previous weeks. I did have a choice of several photos on one day, Day 290. Remember to be thinking about which one of the 365 photos is your favorite as the year draws to a close. 

Day 286-

Millie came out to the living room area to watch as Charlie adjusted the front door. It wasn't closing properly, and there was a lot of opening and closing of said door. All the animals were interested in what was happening.

Watching from a safe spot

Day 287-

We had a nice, clear, warm/pleasant day, so Charlie decided to stain the deck. He had cleaned it over the previous days. Not a fun job, but needed to be done to protect the wood on the deck. 

Staining the Deck

Day 288-

Some of my dogwood trees are starting to show their fall color. This one is also showing the fruit from last year's blooms and the tiny minarets of next year's blooms. Dogwoods, Cornus florida, bloom in the early spring with tiny yellow flowers. The white bracts that surround the flowers are often mistaken for the petals of the flowers. 

Last spring and next spring

Day 289-

When I take the dogs outside to play in the morning, many times there is a lone Mourning Dove just sitting very still in the grass. I wasn't sure if it would fly away when I tried to get a photo, but this dove stayed put for a quick photo. Getting a photo of a bird with a cell phone isn't easy, the zoom isn't very long-reaching. 

Mourning Dove

Day 290-

Walking through the backyard I was tickled to see one of the Cyclamen was blooming. I have several Cyclamen neapolitanum planted in the wooden area of the garden. I see the leaves but often miss the blooms. 

Cyclamen

Day 291-

I am lucky to have a pair of Persimmon trees in our yard. They produce some fruit, though not a lot. 

Persimmons, Diospyros virginiana, need two trees, male and female, to bear fruit. The male and female trees in my front yard almost look like a double trunked single tree. The pollinators love the blooms.

Persimmon

Day 292-

Our trees are starting to show their fall colors, and the morning light hitting the leaves makes them shine. The yellow leaves in the photo are one of the many hickories we have in our yard. The sky in the background was dark with rain clouds. We could use the rain, though we were only graced with a small amount. I checked the gauge, 4/100" of rain. First reports were an anticipation of 2/10", and it was an over exaggeration. I will be sharing the side yard foliage over the next few weeks. The lot to the left sold and the new owners are moving ahead with plans to build. The lot line is pretty close to the garden edge, so the look will be changing for sure.  

Fall colors with dark skies

The day I found the Cyclamen blooming, I got a few other photos. It was a tough choice between the one chosen and the ones below. Please enjoy Rudbeckia laciniata, a small fern in the crevice of a rock, Calico aster- Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, and a tiny toad. I think the toad is a Fowler's Toad, but not sure.

Would you have chosen differently? 

Be sure to subscribe to the posts on Substack. The link to my Substack page is  https://janetledebuhr.substack.com/

I hope you are thinking about your favorite one! See you next week.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Tuesday's Trees- Fall Color

Yes,  I know it isn't Tuesday.  This week will go by pretty quickly, so I thought I would share this post now. Fall color.  Many of us in the blogging world are sharing our gorgeous fall color.  Dave's Growing the Home Garden shares a link for many to share their fall colors.  It is great to see the various fall foliage across the country.

I like seeing the various colors in the landscape as a way of identifying what trees are in our woods.  Leaf shape another method of identification.  The tree in the photo above is also the tree in the next few photos.  The large yellow statement in the woods might lead you to think it is a hickory or maple of some variety.  No, closer investigation tell us it is Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua.  See the palmated leaf?  What a wide range of colors.  Love the red shades.

In addition to yellows and reds, Sweetgum also has dark burgundy colors.  This one stands out nicely against the yellow of another Sweetgum sapling.

Now we do have Hickories in our woods.  There are a few varieties of Hickory, Carya, each showing its bold yellow foliage.  

Love how the yellow stands out against the water.

Multiple colors in the woods, showing us that there is bio-diversity in our woods.

Another yellow in the forest is Beech, Fagus grandifolia, with its golds, yellows, bronzes, and soon --beiges. I love the way Beeches seem to glow as they start to lose their green color.  It is another tree that you can identify in the fall as it has its multiple shades of yellows.  Winter its foliage will be the beigey tan color, remaining on the branches, another identifying feature of the Beech.

In addition to the yellows, there are many reds in the woods.  I love the White Oak, Quercus alba, with its russet burgundy reds.  It is like a beautifully tanned leather.  Just gorgeous.

Remember my Sassafras albidum from a couple days ago?  It continues to change, getting more orange and red and coral colored.

Many think of Crepe Myrtles, Lagerstroemia ssp. for their summer bloom color or perhaps its lovely exfoliating bark in the winter.  I love its great fall colors. 

Some are brighter and more brilliant than others, but, wow, what a presence in the landscape.

I love the colors of fall.  The angle of the sun gives an extra warmth and glow to the myriad of color.

My front yard--- 

And my backyard--

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  Enjoy the beauty of nature around you.

While writing this post we had the TV on.  A fascinating show on CNN called 'The Next List'- this week's show is about Nalini Nadkarni, a professor and scientist doing tree canopy research.  If you have a few minutes to watch it is very interesting.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Sparkles and Other Interesting Sights in the Garden

This time of year in the garden I find interesting items.  This is a seed pod from one of the vine-y pea wildflowers that we have all over the woods.  I saw the long pods earlier, but now, it is a  spiral open pod with the seeds ready to drop.  

About this time of year the Euonymus americana, 'Heart's A-Bustin' is only green stems --except for a few uneaten 'hearts'.   The edged green stems are an easy ID for this plant.  I like having those absolutely certain indicators.  

Love these bright red seeds.  Apparently so do the little critters in the garden. 

In the front yard is my Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide', a very young and new plant for me.  I am thrilled to have it blooming so profusely in its first year in my garden.  I love Camellias and have a couple others in the back garden, one along the side, one waiting to be planted (impulse buy at Lowe's) and an offer of one I LOVE 'Pink Perfection' from a fellow blogger.  (He has propagated some of his!)

Don't you just love all that pollen?  The bloom looks like it was dusted with gold. 

My little Sassafras tree is finally starting to change to its fall colors.  I think that is one of the reasons I like Sassafras so much, the fall colors of oranges and corals and salmons.....ohhhhhh my.

It is hard not to again showcase the Sumacs in the front yard, their red colors are just sparkling. 

Lots of seeds are ready to be disbursed in the wind, these are some of the Goldenrod that are native to my area.   These delicate little seeds, each with their own bit of feathery fluff, help to carry them to new locations.  

This is a poll question for everyone.....do you like the photo as it is above or lighting/shadows adjusted and polariod tool used in the one below.  Above or below?

More of the Goldenrod seeds, different variety, ready to fly.

or be carried--- when the dogs go out, they like checking out the woods and come back in with all sorts of seeds all over their coats.

From the sparkles of ornamental grasses--- here in the backlit setting sun

To a close up of the seeds--

To gorgeous fall color of a Crepe Myrtle, I love the offerings of fall in my garden.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Window Views and Ants

It is fall and the colors are outstanding.  I love the views from our dining room window.  We live in an Oak-Hickory forest and in the fall the view just sparkles.   This is the view of the lot next door to us.  This summer I saw a deer walking down through the woods, heading to the lake for a drink.  The bird activity is just wonderful.  (Except for Great Backyard Bird Count day when they all hide)  

The late afternoon sunlight shines through the forest, love the angle of the sun this time of year.   On the windowsill you see a pair of binoculars....they are well used!!

Gardening is usually nicer in the fall here in South Carolina because the weather is better.  Unfortunately for me, I found a nest of fire ants.  We planted a new bed at the front gate of our housing area.  Moving a little bit of mulch the next day to cover a bare spot of soil, I picked up a handful of ants.  Note to self --wear your gloves and look before you pick up anything!!!

We made a trip to the doctor and I have meds to take care of getting my hand back to normal.  Will have to wait a few more days to get back into my garden, don't want the blistered bites to pop and get worse.  

The tree post from last week will be up probably tomorrow.  Benedryl makes my head a little fuzzy so I haven't finished writing it.   Be sure to check previous tree posts as fall pictures are added.  

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.